Lemon Butter Chicken
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
Easy crisp-tender chicken with the creamiest lemon butter sauce ever – you’ll want to forget the chicken and drink the sauce instead!
Happy New Year! I know I should really be sharing some sort of salad or quinoa recipe with the start of the year but you know me and my chicken thigh obsession. I just can’t get enough, especially when a lemon butter cream sauce is involved.
And if you’re in the need of some clean greens for the new year diet, well, this dish has plenty of baby spinach. Good enough, right?
Plus, these chicken thighs carry quite a bit of punch with that fresh, zingy lemon flavor and that smoky goodness from the paprika. And this cream sauce is absolutely heavenly. Just be sure to have a spoon ready because you’ll want to sip on it straight from the pan!
Lemon Butter Chicken
Ingredients
- 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 cups baby spinach, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Season chicken thighs with paprika, salt and pepper, to taste.
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Working in batches, add chicken, skin-side down, and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side; set aside.
- Melt remaining tablespoon butter in the Dutch oven. Add garlic, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, heavy cream, Parmesan, lemon juice and thyme.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat, stir in spinach, and simmer until the spinach has wilted and the sauce has slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Return chicken to the Dutch oven.
- Place into oven and roast until completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 25-30 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
How much broth (from the 4th step)? thanks!!!
1 cup.
I took the skin off of the thighs and trimmed the fat underneath. I think this brought the cholesterol and fat content down. I did everything else according to the recipe. Delicious!!! I’ve tried other lemon and thyme chicken recipes before. This was the best and the easiest!
I like spicy and was thinking I make it spicy by adding Cayenne or Jalapenos? Will that ruin the recipe?
Not at all!
OMG, made this tonight and the only complaint is wish there was more sauce! It was so damndelicious!! will double the sauce next time. Thank you.. I put it over penne pasta.
My sister and I love this chicken, and have made it twice in two weeks! We cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and make extra sauce, then mix it all up into a bunch of bow tie pasta. So good!
This recipe is a winner — absolutely fantastic! You could put this sauce on a dishtowel and it would taste great. You are so talented at developing easy to make, delicious recipes. Thank you!
I followed the recipe to a tee and it didn’t come out creamy, the taste was off and the sauce was a great mess. Was really looking forward to this but unfortunately we won’t be trying this one again. I’m having to salvage what I can tonight. The chicken is moiste so that’s a plus but the sauce isn’t edible 🙁
I’m sorry that this recipe did not turn out the way you had imagined. I only post recipes that have been successfully tested in my own kitchen, and as you can see from the comments here, many of these readers have had great outcomes in the final dish as well. However, I understand that we all have different taste preferences, and I really appreciate your honest feedback.
This is a really easy and tasty meal! I used chicken breast instead of thighs as a personal preference, and the chicken was so juicy and yummy!
I made this tonight, OMG….it’s so delicious, see link to the finished product. I put the spinach in dry, poured the sauce on it, put the chicken on top, then baked it….didn’t have enough room in my skillet. Also I had to sacrifice a piece of the chicken for the broth because I didn’t have any. My family loved this….A TOTAL HIT IN MY HOUSE
https://goo.gl/photos/cQC43cpD3AXNewH3A
You still used everything that was requested we use? Only step you change was cooking the spinach in the oven? Did this change your cooking time? How long did you leave in the oven?
I have tried 4 of your recipes since the weekend and all have been excellent. This one was a hit tonight – especially for the toughest of food critics, my 5YO son and 18 mth daughter! I will continue to frequent this site for more ideas!!!
Can I use bone in chicken breasts? Also, if I cut the recipe in half should I keep the cooking time the same? I’m assuming if I cut the recipe in half then I should cut the ingredients in half as well?
Yes, if the recipe is halved, all ingredients should be halved as well. But cooking time will have to be adjusted as needed to suit this substitution.
How to get more sauce it seems to disappear?
You can double or triple the sauce portion as needed.
I made this for the first time a few months ago and now it goes on to our menu plan at least once a month. It is SO good, I have claimed all leftovers for every time I make this dish and my family knows I am not kidding. 🙂 I LOVE the sauce for it.
OMG, this really is damn delicious! Made it wit roasted cabbage as a side (for husband and son). I ate it with a let and chicory and poored the sauce all over it. I actually drank some of the sauce, soooo gooood!!! 😉 Thank you for this wonderfull recipe!
I have been looking at this recipe for a while now and finally made it today. It was so flavorful, my whole family enjoyed it. Thank you!!
I pinned this awhile ago and made it….a big hit! Tonight I only have drumsticks on hand so hopefully that will do! I’m going to check out more of your recipes 🙂
I was disappointed – next time I would eliminate the spinach and serve the chicken over rice with parsley and peas.
I’m sorry that this recipe did not turn out the way you had imagined. I only post recipes that have been successfully tested in my own kitchen, and as you can see from the comments here, many of these readers have had great outcomes in the final dish as well.
But I understand that failures and mishaps can happen. With a little bit more information, we can troubleshoot what went wrong to have a successful turnaround next time.
So I must ask – did you follow the recipe exactly as written without any substitutions?
THANK YOU!! Just made this with pan seared baby potatoes & carrotts with rosemary & lemon thyme. Super yummy! Love that it goes from stove to oven in my cast iron pan! And mind you we’re renovating so I used a hot plate and toaster oven! Loved by all!
I made this with shrimp instead of chicken, and served with fettucine. It was a hit.
I just made this tonight for my parents and in-laws. It was really good! I made a combination of chicken breast and chicken thighs. I think the chicken breast really soaks up the sauce well because it was very juicy and tender. Bravo on a fabulous recipe!